Here to protect
by Fmalover
Summary: Some spoilers included Winry discusses why Riza joined the military even though she dislikes it. From that she decides to join the military as Ed's subbordinate. What will our favorite blond do when he finds out? Hinted: EdxWinry and RoyxRiza
1. Reason: to protect

**Okay, so here it goes… I'm making this into a full fledged story… although my other one will be on hold for maybe a week while I type up enough chapters to keep any readers satisfied for a while…. I'm going to be posting chapter 2 soon… since I wrote this 1st chapter as a one shot and some have already read it….**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any of the characters in it**

**FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA**

**Chapter 1- Reason: to protect**

**SPOILER WARNING!**

"Are you sure she said Rockbell?" The young automail mechanic asked the two boys, Rick and Leo.

"That's right" Leo told her

"There was this female doctor who could be really scary and always gave us candy." Rick, the younger of the two said and looked at his brother.

"Even if they were from Ishbal, she would still help anyone who was injured." Leo said "And yet… it was so awful that she got killed."

"She got killed by a Nationally Certified Alchemist?" Young Rockbell asked as they spoke of her parents

"I heard that it was an alchemist that could manipulate fire, one greatly praised for his action." Leo said

Winry began to tense "Mom was crying, wasn't she?" Rick asked. Winry stood up in her Black miniskirt, teal tank top and black coat and ran off like a kid running from someone who just said something really mean. Her eyes were closed "Lady!" Rick called

Ed walked out of a tent in Ishbal followed by Riza and Al. To their right they saw Winry struggling with a military official and Leo and Rick behind her with military officials holding their hands behind their back. Rick and Leo were Ishvarites.

Ed offered the two young Ishvarites that he had freed, to go to Rizenbool. They denied it and said they'd go to camps with the rest of their type. Winry agreed to go back to Central to visit Hughes, his wife, and Elisia. She asked Hawkeye to take her there. While Hawkeye and Winry were on the train, Hawkeye was re-assembling her gun. "Ms. Hawkeye?" Riza asked

"Call me Riza" Riza said

"Riza-san, have you ever shot anyone?" Winry asked

Riza looked sort of surprised and straightened "I have… a lot."

"Do you know of the doctors named Rockbell?" Winry was looking down with her hands in her lap.

"Yes" Riza told her "I do not know what you know, but there are times when soldiers must take the lives of others. In obeying absurd orders, that is. That is why I may not like soldiers very much."

She looked up "But you are in the military."

"I am because there is someone important that I must protect. I was not influenced by anyone else to think that." Riza put a few more pieces of her gun on "It was my decision. I pull the trigger on my own will, for the sake of the person I must protect." She finished putting it together and aimed to gun in front of her. "Until I fulfill that goal, I will pull the trigger without any doubt."

Winry looked at the gun "What if that person isn't worth protecting?"

"That is for me to decide." Riza told her. ((A/n- if you can't tell….. the person she must protect is Mustang… and I'm not sure… but I think he might've been transferred back to Central by this episode… if not whatcha gonna do? ))

**END OF SPOILERS!**

When they got off the train in Central, Winry asked Riza to take her to Mustang. Riza drove Winry to the Central Headquarters and went off to fulfill her duties. Winry walked up to the front desk "I would like to see Colonel Mustang, could you tell me where his office is?"

"I'm sorry Miss… this building is off limits to the public"

"but it's important! I need to speak with Mustang now!"

"What's your name?" The woman asked and picked up the phone

"Winry Rockbell" She told her

"Sir?... Young Miss Rockbell is down here, she wishes to speak with you" She was obviously talking to Mustang. "Okay, will do sir" The woman placed the phone back on the receiver and pointed to the stairs at the far end of the foyer ((A/n-not sure if that's the correct word… it's the… thing you enter in when you go into a church.. I donno)) "go up those stairs down there and up to the 2nd floor. The Colonel's Office is the 4th door on the left, he's waiting."

"Thank you" Winry said and began walking there. She took her time and all she could hear was the slow, rhythmic sound of her feet touching the tile flooring. There were plenty of people around her, making who knows how much racket but she couldn't hear any of it She was beginning to have second thoughts about what she was going to try to do. 'He won't let me… he'll say no…I know it! Why embarrass myself like that? Wait! What am I thinking… am I going to give up so easily… THE HELL I'M NOT!' There was a war going on in her head. She slowly climbed up the stairs to the 2nd floor. '1st door, 2nd door, 3rd door, 4th door' Winry counted the doors and then knocked as she arrived at the 4th door. She noticed that on the door, was a plate that said "Roy Mustang – Flame Alchemist"

"Come in!" Mustang called through the door. Winry slowly opened the door "Close the door and have a seat Ms. Rockbell." Winry did so, slowly. She cautiously sat down across from Mustang "What's so important that you had to rudely demand to speak with me?"

"I would like to enlist in the military." Winry said. Her own doubt showed in her voice.

Mustang chuckled "You seriously think the military would allow a young girl like yourself to enlist in the military?"

"You have the authority to" Winry said with a bit more confidence.

Mustang would have begun laughing but the with her confidence she looked and sounded very serious about it. "Sure I have the authority… but why would I endanger the childhood friend of FullMetal?"

"It's the least you could do, after killing my parents!" Winry pushed at him.

Mustang was shocked by her sudden outburst. He turned in his chair so that Winry was facing his side as he thought. After a few minutes, he spoke to the wall "Why to you want to be in the military?"

"because…" Winry carefully searched for the words to say " 'There is someone important that I must protect'… A couple of people…"

Mustang sighed, turned back towards Winry, opened a drawer of his desk and pulled out some papers, closing the drawer. "Fine, Warrant Officer Rockbell, fill out these papers," he slid the papers and pen across the desk "and I'll make you Ed's subordinate."

Winry grabbed the pen and began filling out the papers

FMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMA

She slid the papers back across to Mustang "Before I let you go out to the Elrics… you need to learn to shoot a gun, and you need your uniform… Hawkeye and myself will teach you to shoot a gun."

FMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMAFMA

Winry put her gun in the holster around her waist "Do you know where the are?" Riza asked Winry as she put the blue top on over her black shirt.

Winry nodded to her "Archer recently assigned Ed too Rior… although Al isn't with him, I at least know where Ed is."

"Are you sure about this?" Mustang asked her

"Positive" Winry's hair was up in the same fashion as Riza's. She wore the traditional blue, white, and gold military uniform. Over the past three months, she had gotten used to wearing the uniform. Mustang and Riza were preparing her. Now they found her ready. Pinaco had been informed of her intentions, even though she strongly disapproved.

"I've made Ed incapable of firing you" Mustang said

"Thank you for you help" Winry said and got on the train. She sat at a seat right next to an open window.

"Do your best and don't die" Riza told her and waved as the train took off.


	2. What are you doing here?

**Here is it! Chapter 2… see I'm fast.. I hope you like.. I am currently working on chapter 3 but it will not be posted today… unless I magically get tons of reviews…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any of the characters in it**

**FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA **

**Chapter 2- What are you doing here? **

Winry stepped off the train and stretched with a huge smile on her face. "I'm finally here!" She slowly took in her new surrounding. "I've never been anywhere but Rizenbool, Dublith, Ishbal, Rushvalley, and Central before… Oh well! Just another town to add to the list!" People stared at her as though she was insane. She chose to ignore them and walked out of the train station.

I woman on the street turned to the man next to her, who was obviously her husband, upon seeing Winry "Oh! Please tell me not again! What business does the military have here!"

Winry was greatly offended by this "Calm down hunny, it'll be alright… the holy mother is coming just down the road... with her around, nothing can go wrong." The man comforted.

Winry looked the way he had motions and thought 'holy mother?' There were people in hooded robes walking in her direction. They were in a circle and within the circle they concealed the "holy mother" and her baby boy.

The crowds that stood in the street began making a path and bowing their heads toward the middle whispering to each other "It's the holy mother, she's coming"

Winry walked to an open bar that was close by. Everyone was silent, looking on at the holy mother. "Do you have anything non-alcoholic.? If so I'd like to order that" the bartender made to get her order. A boy turned his head to look at her. His smooth brown hair flowed down his back. Something about Winry had pulled his attention from the holy mother/ "What are you looking at? You creep!" Winry shouted.

He stood up and examined Winry good which made Winry think about hitting him over the head with her wrench which she carried on her belt: just for Ed. Winry took note that the boy was awfully short and reminded her of a certain midget whos name shall not be released. "Win-ry?" the boy asked cautiously. Winry could recognize that voice anywhere. "What the hell are you wearing that uniform for!" he demanded and slammed his hands on the counter. His right hand made a distinct sound, that Winry also recognized right of the bat, when the metal digits formed a fist.

"Why are you wearing that silly wig, sir?"

He looked at her, anger flaring in his eyes "What are you doing here! And why did you call me sir…!" people around shhhed them so the boy grabbed Winry's hand and dragged her into an alley. When he grabbed her hand she felt her heart skip a beat. "Winry! Answer me!" Winry felt tears weld up in her eyes 'come on Winry, be brave' she said to herself. "Now..! Winry!"

Winry took a deep breath and saluted the boy while standing in attention, "I'm sorry, I should had introduced myself properly… I am Warrant Officer Winry Rockbell… your subordinate" she said with complete lack of confidence but knew she could not be fired, not could she fail.

"WHAT!" He yelled in disbelief "You're fired!"

"I'm sorry, Edward, you don't have the power to fire me."

"Who says!" he continued his yelling

"Roy"

"Is… he the one who hired you?" Ed asked, clenching his teeth together.

Winry looked down "Yes… but I didn't give him much other choice… so don't you dare blame him"

Ed pulled her arm out of the salute "Why" He had softened much more when Winry started looking sad "Why did you join the military!" His face looked pained.

Winry looked at his golden eyes and thought of saying "because that is where you are!" "To protect the one I love from danger!" but she couldn't say that. She didn't have the courage yet. 'and anyways' she told herself, gripping her hands tight 'he's so stupid… he'd either misconstrue it as friendship or think I'm in love with someone else… which will really freak him out!' "I.. can't tell you Ed… I can't, right now…"

"Then go home until you can!" he shouted

"Ed… I may be in the military, and you may be of a higher rank, but that doesn't prevent me from carrying my wrench, and it sure doesn't protect you from it!" Winry was mad… really mad.

Ed cringed at that "Fine. But don't get in the way!" He walked out of the alley, ending the fight. They holy mother was just passing through that spot even though they had been arguing for quite some time. Ed managed to get a look at the holy mother and her baby "Roze…?" he asked himself.

Winry walked up behind him "Who is Roze?"

"What?" Ed asked

"You said the name Roze… who is she?"

"No one… just someone me and Al met when searching for the Philosopher's stone, when this town was run by the corrupt Cornello." Ed informed her.

"Oh…" Winry responded

"Winry go back to my Inn" Ed said and gave her the key "I have to find Scar"

Winry nodded, not feeling like arguing in the street, and went off. Ed looked around and scratched his head 'Where can he be..?' Ed looked down an alley and saw a shadow on the wall at the far end but couldn't see the person whom it belonged to. 'It is tall so it must be a man' Ed noticed that the alley turned around the building and figured he must be around the corner. Ed's shoes made more noise then he wanted. The person obviously heard him and looked to see who it was "Edward Elric – FullMetal Alchemist"

"Scar" Ed said and charged him

FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA

Winry felt something was wrong when she got to the inn. 'I joined the military to protect Ed… so what am I doing here in the Inn? I should be out there protecting him… no hesitating… no holding back' She stood up and walked out, back towards where she left Ed.


	3. What is Scar doing here?

**Nyago - **_Thank you for your review… Do you like the twist?_

**Psycho King – **_I'm glad that you like it thanks for reviewing_

**Falalalalala.xD – **_thanks for reviewing_

Winry was looking down every alley, asking everyone "have you seen a small brunette boy? Hot headed too." She got "no"s and head shakes. She looked down one alley and saw Ed yell at scar and then scar ask something, not loud enough for her to comprehend what was being said. Then she saw scar charge at Ed and lost her voice in her throat. Ed yelled "I'll wake you up!" as he made his automail into his weapon. Scar grabbed it with his left arm. He then went after Ed's head with his right arm but thank god Ed had that wig one. Ed dunked his head and Scar pushed his hand forward.

Ed pulled back and Scar looked at the wig and threw it away. Ed then made to attack Scar with his right arm but Scar caught it and tried to decompose it with his right arm. Red flickered around it but did nothing to the automail, baffling Scar. Ed sent his elbow into Scar's face, making him back up and kicked his automail leg up onto Scar's shoulder and behind his head. Scar tried the same thing with the leg but failed and took a step back, clenching his teeth together and asked "why?"

"You don't understand, even though you're an alchemist?" Ed asked

"You think I'm an alchemist?"

"The three steps in alchemy are comprehension, decomposition, and reassembly." Ed began to explain "You unconsciously figure out the metals used in your opponents, and you fine-tune your technique to destroy them. That's why I've been substituting my auto-mail with metals other than steel."

Ed clapped his hands and transmuted his automail back with the stone wall next to him "So that's what's going on…"

Winry sent her wrench flying at Ed and bullets at Scar. "STAY AWAY FROM EDWARD!" She shouted. Ed was forced back by the blow of the wrench. Scar received a bullet to the shoulder. Winry stood there dangerously with her gun aimed at him. He quickly grabbed his arm and made no action that would give him another bullet, more than likely in the chest the next time.

From out of nowhere as far as Winry could tell, a black blur came by and then her gun fell to pieces. Winry looked down at it "What is going on?" She asked herself.

Ed rubbed his head as he sat up and to Winry's side, he saw Lust and Gluttony. "We can't let you kill him… He's important to us" She was about to send her spikes into the chest of terror struck Winry but Scar stepped in front of her. "We're protecting you, scarred one of Ishbal"

Scar looked at her firmly "I am your enemy"

"If you can make the Philosopher's Stone, then we will protect you." Lust said plainly

Scar took a locket out of his clothing "Does this bring back any memories?" it was oval had a blue gem in the center of it. "It's something you gave to my brother." There was blood flowing from his arm

Lust looked a little shaken by it "What are you talking about?"

"Remember it!" he demanded pulling up on the chain, the actual locket part rising and going forward some.

Lust got a distant, far off look on her face and memories of her past life flashed before her. A man… holding her hand. That man… embracing her. She then was completely shocked and frozen.

"Lust?" Gluttony said and then she began falling forward "Lust!" Gluttony caught her. She fell over his shoulder since he's much shorter than her. Gluttony had his back to them "I hate you! I hate you all!" He shouted, looking over his shoulder. He jumped up and clung to part of the wall of a building while he made a hole in it with his mouth and jumped through.

"What do you know about that Humunculus?" Ed asked Scar as Winry went to pick up her wrench. She was barely able to walk straight.

"It has nothing to do with you" Scar said and Ed tensed

"Stop!" Lyra said from the side "

"Lyra… and rose too?"

" 'Please, listen to what he has to say, Ed' I think that's what Rose is trying to say." Lyra said

"Rose… you can't speak?" Ed asked

Roze nodded. Winry looked as if she was going to chuck her wrench at him again "You won't be able to either if you don't tell me what you've done to my automail!"

Ed looked over at her "What are you doing here! I told you to go to the Inn! You could have died Winry!"

Winry snapped back at him "I WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU!"

"Don't go placing my life above your own like that" Ed said and turned to Scar "What do you know about her?"

**Short time passes (don't ask about it… this is a distorted version of what actually happens)**

Scar was telling Ed and Winry about what he knew of that homunculus

"Take this as a keepsake, so you'll remember me after I'm gone." A woman with long brown hair, that closely resembled Lust, said to a man to resembled Scar to an extent. The man pulled her into an embrace. A mini scar lacking his scar walked up the hill and saw them and smiled lightly.

"Back when Ishbal was still a peaceful land, I had an older brother" Scar told Ed "An intelligent, respectable brother who I was proud of. My brother had a beautiful lover. She died from a disease, and all to early was given to the God of Ishbal."

Scars brother cried holding a woman's hand to his face. In his hand he held the keepsake she gave him. "Nii-san, What are you looking for? " A young scar asked as his brother searched through books

"The Great Art" He responded, light glaring off his glasses. "It's a miraculous technique that can recreate anything."

"Isn't the Great Art supposed to be the root of this propaganda from Central called "alchemy"?" Scar tried to reason with his brother.

"Within the Great Art, there's supposed to be a technique to bring someone back to life." Scar's brother said plainly.

Young Scar had a horrified look on his face "I see… so this is how this works…"

A while later (this is in Scar's story to Ed and Winry) Scar stood over a covered "body" that lay on an alchemy array. Scar raced through the streets of Ishbal. Scar tried the door to his brother's house and found it to be locked "Brother! Brother!" He called and banged on the door. Scar's brother opened the door and stood halfway out of it. Blood ran from the thing in the array to where Scar's brother stood and then up his pants to his groin.

"In order to revive her, my brother defied the teachings of Ishbal." Scar continued telling Ed "Even after he lost a part of his body… she still didn't come back. My brother was exiled because the Great Art was forbidden in Ishbal. But had my brother succeeded? That woman named Lust…"

"Do you know how the Homunculus are born?" Ed clenched his teeth "When someone fails a human transmutation, that failed result is a Homunculus."

"That reminds me of something Dante told me." Lyra said "She said that she failed a human transmutation and created a Homunculus."

"That was probably Greed." Ed said Winry sat along side listening intently "But at that state, they shouldn't be able to survive for long. Someone must be collecting Homunculus like Lust or Envy, and giving them multiple lives in order to control them."

"Then it was my brother who created Lust." Scar said

"She has no soul." Ed told him "She's just a monster who looked like his lover." Scar looked at the locket before Ed took it out of his hand "Lust hates this keepsake. Homunculus are weak against parts of their former bodies."

"Soon after my brother left, we were invaded." Scar continued with his story "We were angered by the sudden attack, and retaliated. And then, the long, exhausting battle began."

Scar ran through the streets carrying a gun to where a group of people had gathered "I have discovered how to create the Philosopher's Stone!" Scar's brother said

"Brother!" Scar called from in the crowd

"With this power, I can save Ishbal."

"Because we were besieged by war, no one opposed the return of my brother. However, my brother abruptly abandoned the research when he came close to completing it. Now, I can understand why."

"At Kishiur, and exiled Ishvarite told me… that even in the Great Art, creating the Philosopher's Stone required a great number of human lives." Ed said. Winry began crying in recollection of that day. The day that she found out Roy killed her parents. She turned around to hide her tears.

"That's right" Scar said "It would require the death of a whole city, or even an entire race. The sorrow, the hate, the anger that is created from those deaths… When they become one, the Philosopher's Stone is born. The Philosopher's Stone was necessary in order to save Ishbal. But for that, Ishbal needed to be destroyed."

A group of Ishvarites were walking in a desert like expanse when an explosion came out of no where among them. "I'm the State Alchemist responsible for the deaths of all the Ishvarites in this area." A State Alchemist named Kimbley said. He had long black hair and a red stone hanging on a necklace around his neck.

"A State Alchemist?" Scar asked as he helped up his brother who had fallen. His brother had markings on his body. He looked like a weird alchemy array.

"Please stop!" An old man begged Kimbley "We're being chased out of our country. Isn't that enough?"

"I'n hyst following the orders I got: to kill every last one of you bastards, with your different colored eyes and skin." Kimbley told him and grabbed his arm

"Why?" He asked

"Who knows?" He said and transmuted the mans skin into a bomb. Scar charged him to find the man explode in front of him and to find himself face to hand with Kimbley. "I've got a great idea." Kimbley said menacingly "How 'bout I blow up your body, bit by bit? First, I'll turn your skin into an explosive material." He squeezed Scar's head tightly then released it and put his finger to the center of his forehead causing his skin to expand in the shape of an X and then explode. Scar grabbed his head and screamed in pain. "Now, this arm." Kimbley said gabbing Scar's right arm. He squeezed it tight and the arm flew from Scar's body to land in the sand. Scar fell to the ground "Next is…" Kimbley looked at Scar to find Scar's brother over him protectively. "Oh my, that body looks like a transmutation circle. Who would have thought that there was an alchemist in Ishbal? But we have a transmutation amplification device." Kimbley grabbed the sting of his necklace and pulled it up.

The markings on the body of Scar's brother glowed a red and the red stone hanging on Kimbley's neck became attracted to him. IT was then sucked into his body. Guns were shot from farther off "Colonel Grand" Kimbley said.

Scar began waking up. He sat up and looked at his right arm which had been blown off and now was connected to him and had markings on it "This is.. Brother!" He hurried to turn over his brother who was right next to him. He no longer had the markings on his body and was missing his right arm.

"The lives of people who were inside me… I give them to you." Scar's brother told him

"No! Why, Brother!" Scar said frantically

"That arm has power" He said "Had I not done this, you would have died."

"Brother! Brother!"

"I have done the unforgivable." Scar dropped his head and shook it "You loved her, didn't you? I'm sorry, I'll be seeing… her first…" Scar's brother's final words. Scar broke out in tears, crying over the loss of his brother.

"Your brother was attempting to transmute the Philosopher's Stone within his own body." Ed said knowingly. "He was taking the lives of the dying Ishvarites, and gave all of them to you, in that arm."

"The Philosopher's Stone itself has power." Scar said "That's how I managed to survive."

"That arm itself is the incomplete Philosopher's Stone… That's why it reacts with red stone" Ed said

"In order to complete it, I would need more lives."

"That's no excuse to set Rose up as a source of charisma to control the people - -"

"Wait" Lyra broke in "He isn't going to sacrifice the people of Lior."

"What are you even doing here, Lyra?"

"After Dante died, I was searching for a place to put my alchemy to good use. And then I learned of Scar's plans. Before the fighting begins, the people will escape through a pathway built below the old church. Then the soldiers that were lured into the town will be…"

"There will still be victims!" Ed argued "Even the people in the military don't deserve to be killed—" He turned to Roze who had come out of a room holding her baby. The baby started crying so she started comforting him and went into a room right next to where they were.

"Do you have any idea what they did in this city?" Scar asked

"What did the military do to Rose?" Ed asked

"She was captured, and by the time she returned, she had lost her voice." Ed grew horrified and it was apparent on his face "Do you still ask us to forgive the military?" Ed turned to Roze who he could see the back of behind a curtain like thing hanging in the door way.

Ed clenched his teeth "I won't stop you Scar."

"Ed?" Winry said cautiously "You're going to let them kill all those people?"

"No… Let's get the people out of here." He said firmly

* * *

I have replaced the chapter that used to be here because I screwed up...


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